Traveling-grate furnace



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. H. RICHARDS. TRAVBLING GRATE PURNAGB.

(No Moden.) 2 sheets-s115552.

F. H. RICHARDS.

TRAVVBLING` GRATE FURNAGE. v

No. 527,455.i Patented 005. 15,1894.

nu WND U 05% UU Dumm@ Wllzessa w i l 1 jN/ZMW ERANCIs II.` RICHARDS, oF HARTFORD,

` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ECKLEY B. COXE, `OF DRIFTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRAVELING-G RATE FU RNACE.

sPEcIFICA'rIorI forming part of Lettersratent No. 527,455, dated october 1e, 1894.

`Appliance neariy misst. serial No. 518.099. (nomad.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at l I'Iartford,in` the county of Hartford and State e of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Traveling-Grate Furnaces, of which the following is a specilication. Y

This invention relates to traveling-grate furnaces of that class in which an endless traveling grate or furnace-floor isemployed for supporting and imparting a continuous traveling movement to the fueLand in which means are employed for supplying `air to the fuel supported upon the upper run of the traveling grate, as shown, for instance, in United States Letters Patent No. 499,716, granted to Eckley B. Coxe, J une 20, 1893, to `which reference may be had. I

The 'object of my present invention is to provide, in connection with an endless travelin g furnace-floor or grate, in furnaces of `the class specified,irnproved means for supplying air to the fuel supported upon the upper run of the grate, and for more effectively regulat-` ing the supply of air at successive or predetermined points in the length of the furnacechamber, and whereby the cooling effects of the airsupplied to the fuel upon the upper run of the grate may be utilized to reduce the normally high temperature of both the upper and lower runs of said grate.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure l is a sectional side elevation of a traveling-grate furnace embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of a portion of the forward end of said furnace, parts thereof being broken away to more clearly show certaindetails of construction. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-` section of a portion of said furnace, taken in line a-a, Fig. 1, looking toward the righthand in said gure.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

l In the preferredform thereof herein shown and described, my invention consists in the combination with a furnace-chamber and its inclosing walls, of an endless traveling grate 5o or furnace-Hoor, air-supply chambers supported above and below the lower run of said traveling grate and communicating with each otherqthrough said lower` run, means for supplying air to said chambers, and means for imparting a continuous traveling movement to said grate,all of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

In the furnace shown in the drawings, the furnace-chamber C extends from the usual bridge-wall 7 forwardly to the ignition-block 6o or front-wallB; is :inclosed at its sides by the usual side-walls, 2 and 4, and is covered by a roof or arch, A, which construction is so mewhat similar to that shown `and described in the patent hereinbefore referred to. 6 5

e The endless traveling furnace-floor or grate, which may be of any suitable construction and organization, is shown carried within the furnace-chamber byechain-wheels, 12 and 14, at theopposite ends of said chamber, which 7o chain-wheels are secured upon shafts, 13 and 15, respectively, the shaft 13 ofwhich is shown furnished with e a Worm wheel, 40, which meshes with a worm, 41, upon a driving-shaft,

42, that is supported in bearings,43 and 43', 75 and is driven by a pulley, 44, from some snitable source of power. (Not shown.)` This endless grate, which is designated in a general way by G, comprises the upper and lower runs, 10 and 11, respectively-',Ithe upper one 8o of which constitutes the fuel-supporting run,

or the furnace-Hoor proper` As a means for delivering the fuel to the grate, I have shown the furnace provided with the usual hopper, H, located at the forward end thereof; the fuel passing from said hopper through the chute or opening 5, over the ignition-block B and onto the fuel-receiving end of `the upper run of the grate, in the usual manner. y I `9o Y As a means` for supplying air to thefuel located upon them upper run of the grate throughthe lower run of the grateandfor regulating the supply of` air to bring it to varyingpressures at successive points in the 9 5 length of the fuel-carrying run, I have, in the preferred form thereof herein shown, provided a series of successive air-pressure-reducing chambers, herein shown as four in number and designated by a, a', a2 anda, too respectively, intermediate to the upper and lower runs of the traveling grateat successive points in the length of said runs, and each of which chambers has an inlet opening, e,

and an outlet opening, e', contiguous to the lower run 1l and upper run l0, respectively, of the traveling'grate; and I have provided in connection with said series of air-pressure chambers an airsupply or accumulating chamber, J, which is located below-the lower run 1l of the grate and hassuccessive series of outlet openings, b, b', b2 and b3, preferably in register with the inlet openings e of the pressure-chambers a, a', a2 and a3, respectively. This air-supply chamber J, which constitutes a reservoir for supplying air to the entirer series of air-pressure chambers, will usually be supplied with air from a .pipe,P,' which in turn mayA receive its supply from a suitable air-pump or blower. (Not shown.)

To form the air-pressure chambers 0., ao.

and a3, the space betweenthe upper and lower runs of the grate will usually be divided 'by remotely-disposed transverse vertical partitions, or plates, f, preferably flanged at their upper and lower ends, asshown `atf andf, respectively, to form the upper and lower walls of said chambers, the-flanges of each partition preferably terminating remote from the next adjacent partition to form the inlet and outlet openings hereinbefore referred to. Located within the chambers a., a', a2 and a3, at the upper opposite ends thereof, are rollers, 20, which are carried at opposite ends of shafts, 2l, supported in pockets, 22 and 22', formed upon the side-plates 23 and 23 of the furnace-chamber. These rollers support the upper run of the traveling grate. It will be obvious, however, that these rollers might be dispensed with, and the upper run of vthe grate be supported entirely by the iianges f of the partitions f, as will be seen by referencre Yto Fig. 1 of the drawings. Y

The traveling grate herein shown comprises a series of transversely-disposed cross- .sectionally T-shaped floor-beamsv carried by chains at opposite ends thereof, and having air-spacesformed therethrough, and said grate is shown supported in such close proximity to the iianges f or cut-off plates of the division-walls of the chambers a, a', a? and 0.3 as to prevent the passage of air from one chamber to another, as will be understood by reference to Fig. l of lthe drawings.

Supported for sliding movement contiguous to each series of outlet opening b, b', b2 and b3, are slide-valves, or gates, g, g', g2 and g3, respectively, the upper wall j of the chamber J having a series of iianges, j', which form slide-ways for said slide-valves, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. l of the drawings. Theseslide-valves have, each,

. a series of openings, jz, adapted for registering with the outlet openings in the upper wall 7' of the air-supply chamber J, and may be operated by means of operating-rods, j, extending through one of the side-walls of "f the furnace-chamber.

It will be noticed that the aggregate areas of the successive series of outlet openings in the'air-supply chamber J are varied with relation to each other` and would, if their respective valves were in their open positions, permit varying volumes of air to pass through the lower run of the grate into the chambers 'adjacent thereto; and it will also be noticed that the outlet opening in the air-pressure chambers located between the upper and lower runs of the grate are of varying areas which will permit air to be supplied to the fuel at varying pressures at successive points in the fuelsupporting run of said grate.

By this construction and organization I not only regulate the volume of air supplied to the fuel-at successive points in the length of the furnace-chamber through the medium of vthe air-pressure chambers, intermediate to the upper and lower runsof the grate, having the outlet openings therein of varying areas as described, but I am enabled to regulate and maintain a uniform air-pressure adjacent to the upper run of the grate at successive points in the length thereof, which pressures may be Varied at successive points according to the requirements in the successive stages of combustion of the fuel, by means of the valves as hereinbefore described. An-

other point of advantage of this construction` is, that the air passing from the air-supply chamber J "into the successive pressurechambers a, ct, a2 and a3, will, in passing through the lower run of the grate, cool the same and obviate, to 'some extent, warping thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a furnace of the class specified, the combination with the furnace-chamber and its inclosing walls, and with an endless traveling grate, of a series of air-pressure cham bers located between the upper and lower runs of said grate and having outlet and inlet openings contiguous to the upper and lower runs, respectively, of said grate, an airsupply chamber located below the lower run of said grate and having outlet openings adapted lfor communicating with the airpressure chambers through the inlet openings therein, valves located between the outlet openings of the air-supply chamber and inlet openings of the air-pressure chambers, and means for supplying air to the air-supply chamben'substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a furnace of the class specified, the

ycombination with the furnace-chamber and IOO IIO

its inclosing walls, and with an endless travf eling grate and its driving mechanism, of a plurality of variable-pressure air-chambers having outlet openings of relatively varying areas contiguous to the upper run of the traveling grate and having inlet openings contiguous to the lower run of said traveling grate, an air-supply chamber located below the lower run of said grate and having out let openin gs in alignment with the inlet openings of the variable-pressure air-chambers and adapted for supplying air to said chambers through the lower run of the grate, and means for regulating the supply of air to each pressure-chamber, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a furnace of the class specified, the

`combination with the furnace-chamber and its inclosing walls, of an endless grate supported for traveling movement in said furnace-chamber, a series of pressure-reducing chambers located between the upper and lower runs of said grate and having outlet openings of varying areas contiguous to the upper run of said grate, and an air-supply chamberflocated below the lower run of said grate and communicating with the entire series of airchambers, substantially as described.

5. In a furnace of the class specified, the combination with the furnace-chamber and its inclosing walls, of an `endless grate supported for traveling movement within said furnace-chamber and having the space be tween the upper and lower runs thereof divided by vertical transverse partitions into a series of air-pressure-reducin g chambers hav- -ing outlet openings of varying areas contiguous to the upper run of said grate at successive points in the length thereof, and an airsupply chamber located below the lower run i to the air-chamber below the grate, and means for imparting a traveling movement to said grate, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a furnace of the class` specified, the combination with the furnace-chamber and its inclosing walls, of an endless grate supported for traveling movement within said chamber, a plurality of air-pressure-reducing chambers located intermediate to the upper and lower runs of said grate and having outlet and inlet openings contiguous to the uppei` and lower runs, respectively, of said grate, an air supply chamber located below the lower run of said grate and having successive series of outlet openings in communication with the successive air-pressurereducing its inclosing walls, and with an endless grate supported for traveling movement in said chamber, of an accumulating air-chamber located below the lower run of said grate, and a series of air-pressure-reducin g chambers located intermediate to the upper andlower runs of said grate and in communication with the accumulating chamber, andhaving means for supplying air to the fuel supported upon the upper run of the grate, and means for varying the air-pressures at successive points in the length of the grate, substantially as described.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS. Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, EMMA G. FowLER. 

